Warrior Rising - By Pamela Palmer Page 0,49

warmth. "I agree. Starting with the two nearby." Turning inward, she sought them out. "That way, I think." She pointed to the left. "I can't be sure."

"Are either of these two the one you're trying to find?"

"I don't know. I feel only life forces now. The emotions have faded."

"Then how are you going to know him?"

"I don't know. I'm hoping I'll be able to tell once we're closer. Trust me. At least, now that I can sense them, we won't be surprised like we were last time."

"At least that's something." He squeezed her hand and headed left, as she'd indicated.

Harrison led the way this time, and she let him, knowing beyond a doubt she didn't want to see that fire again. They'd walked for several blocks when he came to a sudden stop, then pulled her behind the abandoned wreckage of a small blue pickup truck.

"Found them."

She peered around him. Halfway up the block, between another pair of buildings, stood two Esri males in silver tunics. Both were in profile facing a woman with her back pressed to the brick wall.

One Esri she didn't recognize. He'd likely come of age during the past three hundred years. But the other, with his high cheekbones and short-cropped curly white hair, she would know anywhere. Findris. He'd been a royal guard for eons, since long before she was born. As a child, he'd been the only one of the silent guard to wink at her or slip her treats when no one was looking. He'd been kind to her when most of the court, her mother included, ignored her.

Though she hadn't seen him in centuries, since long before her mother's death and her own incarceration, seeing him now squeezed her heart with homesickness for a different time, a different life.

Was he the one whose joy she'd felt? Yes. She felt almost certain he was. But whether that old friendship superseded his loyalty to his king was anyone's guess. She had grave doubts that it would. Findris was a good man, she believed that, but through fair means or foul, Rith appeared to have stirred a powerful loyalty in his guards.

She didn't think Findris would try to hand her over to Rith like Luciar had, but she couldn't be certain.

Either way, she had to know. Because Findris was a stone scenter and in the past, Esri with such a gift were often able to call strong magic from the stones. Nothing compared to a true Caller, like Rith, but enough, perhaps, to open the gates before the full moon.

If it turned out he was loyal to her, Findris could be a powerful ally indeed.

Harrison tensed beside her. "They're going to rape her."

She realized he hadn't seen the woman until that moment. But even as he said the words, the pair turned away, giving Ilaria a good look at their faces. And their eyes. From this distance, Findris's were indistinct. He wasn't the one who'd taken the woman. No, it was his companion whose eyes still glowed.

"It's already done."

Beside her, Harrison swore low and violently. "Please tell me that bastard isn't the one you're looking for because I'm going to kill him." The line of his jaw had turned hard as granite.

"No, he's not the one I'm looking for, but neither are you going to kill him."

"Is either one King Rith?"

"No."

"Is the other the one you're searching for?"

"No." The lie tripped easily off her tongue. She had to find a way to discover her old friend's loyalty without endangering either him or Harrison. Which meant getting him alone somehow.

Beside her, Harrison's fury throbbed, thick and palpable, and she sensed he was a heartbeat away from attacking the two in retribution. She couldn't blame him. Many among her people held a shocking disregard for human life and few, if any, for a woman's virtue.

Her fingers laced tightly with his. "Calm, my fierce friend. She wasn't harmed."

"She was raped."

"He enchanted her, making her feel extreme desire before he touched her. An Esri male cannot take an unready female. She likely felt only pleasure and won't remember any of it."

His gaze swung to her, his eyes burning. "And that's supposed to make it all right?"

Her stomach clenched at the raw anger directed at her and she pulled her hand from his, taking a step away. "No. I'm only saying she wasn't harmed. Not physically, at least. Our ways are not yours, Harrison. If I ever claim the throne, I'll do what I can to change our dealings with